The Next Generation and the Philosopher's Stone
by ProfessorMoony01
Summary: "Hey guys!" Al called suddenly,standing at the bookshelf with a slightly dumbstruck expression on his face. "I think I know why this place is forbidden." He whirled around,holding up a small book with 'Harry Potter and Philospher's Stone' on the cover.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hey guys! I decided to do a next gen fic after all - I couldn't help it, I just love them too much! Hope you enjoy! I've written the ages of the teenagers below for you guys, just to make it clearer! Reviewww :) _**

**_James – 17_**  
**_Al – 16_**  
**_Lily – 14_**  
**_Teddy – 23_**  
**_Rose – 16_**  
**_Hugo – 14_**  
**_Roxanne – 15_**  
**_Fred – 17_**  
**_Scorpius – 16_**

**_There is no actual mention of their ages in the chapter so if the ages are slightly off to what you guys prefer or whatnot then I don't think it'll be much of a problem! Enjoy :)_**

* * *

"Go on, Al!"

"Or are you too chicken to?"

"Shut _up_, James, you're such a git."

"Ouch, Rosie, you broke my heart!"

"What heart?" Al Potter snorted derisively, rolling his emerald eyes as he ran a hand through his messy locks.

The summer holidays had just started for the Potter–Weasley clan, and currently, James, Al, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Fred, Roxanne and Scorpius (who had been graciously welcomed into the household for a couple of weeks) had all arranged themselves haphazardly around the living room of Potter Manor, relaxing after a long year of hard work or pranking (depending upon whom one hung out with, really.) The sun was streaming in through the open window, allowing a blanket of warmth to settle over the teenagers as they stretched out, each trying to think of ways to alleviate their boredom.

James grinned at his younger brother, "But then what is this terrible _pain _I'm feeling, Al?" The elder Potter wrapped his arms around himself, dramatically collapsing backwards on the floor, wailing loudly.

"Indigestion." Al replied dryly, trying desperately not to roll his eyes again (He was sure that one day his eyes would just give up and end up rolling out of his head).

Fred snickered before glancing at Albus with a somewhat proud grin on his face as he cooed. "Oh we raised him so well! Just listen to all those snarky comebacks! I'm so proud!"

"Alright," Al said decisively, deciding to intervene before James could join in with the fake sobs that Fred had burst into. "I'll do the dare."

Everyone froze.

"Ooooooh!" Lily beamed, "I told you Al was brave enough to do it!"

"More like suicidal," Roxanne muttered, causing the two girls to burst into quiet giggles.

"You guy are bonkers," Scorpius muttered to himself - really, he would have been better off spending the holidays visiting his dear grandfather and grandmother… okay, maybe not, but eh - Potters were sometimes just too crazy for him. And don't even get him _started _ on the Weasleys!

"Don't do it, Al!" Rose advised, knowing inwardly that this boy was a Potter and so he'd probably end up ignoring her. As usual. "You know your dad's study is off limits! He'll be furious! And what if he's placed protective hexes and jinxes all over it?"

Al took one look at James' smug face, before squaring his shoulders and standing up. "I guess there's only one way to find out," he said, raising a challenging eyebrow at his brother before leaving the room.

"Now look at what you've done!" Rose rounded on James, hissing like an angry cat, before leaping up and following her best friend and cousin. Soon, all the teenagers found themselves crowded into the corridor, watching with anticipation as Al cautiously pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Hugo murmured to James, "I don't think you can make fun of him for supposedly lacking Gryffindor tendencies anymore, James."

James grinned at Hugo before turning back to keep an eye on his brother, "Ahh, I'll find something else, no worries about that."

"Hey guys!" Al called suddenly, standing at the bookshelf with a slightly dumbstruck expression on his face. "I think I've found one of the reasons this place is forbidden."

The green-eyed boy whirled around, holding up a small book with '_Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_' emblazoned on the front.

Rose hurried into the room and snatched it out of his hands, "Unbelievable! It's a book about Uncle Harry!" _The Philosopher's Stone? I've never heard of that before…_

Lily frowned, "I swear dad hates having books written about him? Why would he keep one of them in his study? Usually he just throws them away…"

"Well, what should we do with it?" Roxanne asked, a curious light beginning to sparkle in her eyes.

James and Al exchanged a meaningful look before glancing at Lily, who had the same expression on her face. Was it okay for them to intrude so far into their father's privacy? But then again, this was one way for them to find out everything that their parents refused to tell them…

"Teddy!" James suddenly yelled, "We'll ask Teddy what he thinks we should do."

With the cheers and calls of agreement, the teenagers headed back into the living room and towards the floo.

* * *

"A book? About _Harry_? You want to read it?"

Turquoise haired and amber eyed, Teddy Lupin was casually lounging on one of the sofas in the room as Rose explained what was going on.

"We know that dad wouldn't want us to read it," Al said, a troubled expression on his face.

"But, it's the only way we'll get to know exactly what happened all those years ago," James finished, Lily nodding by his side, both looking hopeful.

Teddy hummed before picking up the book, turning it over and murmuring the title to himself quietly.

"We'll read it." He finally nodded, "If it gets too private in some places we can always stop reading or skip over it. Harry never told me anything beyond the basics of the war either…" _And… maybe there'll be something on my parents?_

After about five minutes of everyone shifting around and making themselves comfortable, Teddy opened up the book, turned to the first page and began to read.

**CHAPTER ONE **

**The Boy Who Lived **

"Oh, looks like it's starting with Harry's uncle and aunt, guys," Teddy informed the teenagers as his eyes skimmed ahead, mainly for James, Al and Lily's benefit.

"Uncle Dudley's parents?" Al asked, raising his eyebrows. He exchanged a glance with his siblings – maybe they'd finally get to find out why they only ever heard from Dudley and not his parents.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"Oh, you're very welcome m'dears!" Fred interrupted pompously, sticking his nose in the air, "Of course, you're nowhere as normal as _I_ am!"

Roxanne peered at her brother interestedly, tilting her head to side as she stated, "Dad definitely dropped you on your head one too many times when you were a baby… or maybe he accidentally whacked you with his beater's bat."

Teddy winced, chuckling, "Now that was an incident I don't think I'll ever forget."

In a shocked silence, the teenagers turned to stare at Teddy, horrified, before at once sliding their eyes to Fred, who looked completely nonplussed. The metamorphagus smirked to himself before continuing to read - of course, he'd tell them all later that it was one of those 'Baby's first beater bats', so really it was like getting thumped by a marshmallow.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. **

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. **

"What's a drill, Teddy?" Lily asked immediately – the poor girl had inherited her father's curiousity in dollops.

"A machine that makes holes in things, like wood." Teddy replied promptly, smiling when Lily opened her mouth to ask more, but was prevented from doing so when Albus clapped a hand over it and frantically motioned for Teddy to continue before Lily could release her torrent of questions.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. **

"Lovely," Roxanne muttered, wrinkling her nose slightly at this description.

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. **

"Eh, you know what they say about opposites attracting…" James said, grimacing slightly before shrugging.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. **

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"What's wrong with the Potters?" James yelped in surprise, crossing his arms over his chest in anger.

"Do you want the long list or the short list?" Scorpius smirked, before laughing outright at the expression on James' furious face as he opened his mouth to retort. Unfortunately, before he could get a word out, Rose had whacked both boys upside the head and snapped:

"Will you calm down so we can read?"

Al nodded in agreement, although he too (along with the rest of the room) looked more than slightly ticked off at the previously read sentence.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. **

"They're talking about our grandparents, right?" Lily asked, not waiting for an answer before saying tartly, "Well, they can go stuff themselves 'cause being UnDursleyish is the best thing to be."

Hugo looked slightly pained, "Eugh, 'UnDursleyish' isn't even a word!"

"It's alright, Hu," Rose responded, smiling slightly, "Making up words seems to be the _best_ part of their personalities at this point."

"I know!" Hugo groaned, "That's what's so worrying!"

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that. **

"Ooooh, and here Dudley is, disobeying his parents' wishes of staying away from dad even forty years on!" Fred said in an exaggeratedly awed voice, before stating flatly, "What. A. Rebel."

"Besides, dad's an awesome person to 'mix with'!" Lily protested, brown eyes narrowing at the book.

Teddy snickered and looked rather as though he couldn't help himself when he added, "Yeah, obviously Ginny realised that too and _their '_mixing' led to you three!"

"Ewww! Teddy!" Al squawked, covering his ears and shaking his head. "I was brought to mum and dad by a stork!"

"I was found in a bush!" James added, looking slightly green.

"And I…" Lily started, before falling quiet to think about her entrance into the world. "... I was found hanging in a tree!"

Al snickered, green eyes shining, "Yeah, makes sense – you've always looked somewhat like a monkey to me."

After the loud smack Lily delivered to her dear brother's arm, Teddy continued reading once more.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. **

"Such a pleasant child," Scorpius snorted to himself, shaking his blond head.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. **

Roxanne looked contemplative at this and the look in her eyes became scarily mischievous. "Has dad ever thought of exploding cereal? You know, maybe some porridge that explodes in your face as soon as you bring it near your mouth?"

Fred grinned at his sister proudly, before conjuring up a piece of parchment and quill, wasting no time in jotting the idea down.

"**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. **

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat **

"OH MERLIN, A _CAT!_" James gasped theatrically, "The horror!"

**reading a map. **

"Oh. Fair enough then." James interrupted once more, "That _would _be weird for muggles."

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. **

"That has to be McGonagall," Teddy said immediately – it just made sense!

**What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. **

"_Definitely_ McGoogly." Fred agreed, "I bet he shuddered in horror at that stare."

At the guffaws of laughter coming from his cousins, Fred reddened slightly, "What? It's freaky - well, it gives _me_ palpitations anyway..."

**As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. **

"How interesting," Scorpius drawled, rolling his pale grey eyes at the muggle's obviously pea-sized brain.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. **

"But that's not strange at all?" The blond Malfoy interjected once more, looking around at the other occupants of the room confusedly.

The Weasleys/Potters/Lupin, having all been in Arthur Weasley's calming presence for the greater part of their lives, all turned to look meaningfully at Roxanne, who was also completely fascinated by muggles (although her family mostly believed that it was just because her best strokes of inspiration for pranks came from certain things muggles did or had).

"They don't wear robes," Roxy said promptly, "They wear jeans – which are _totally _awesome by the way – and leggings -"

Scorpius' mouth dropped, "They wear _legs_?"

Roxy, appalled, seemed to cast around for something to say to this, before finally, ignoring the snickers of her family, she just facepalmed.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it.**

"Oh, _obviously_."

"Hush James."

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. **

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. **

**Most of them had never seen an owl even at night time. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. **

"I think he left his manners at home today," Al said mournfully, "You know, along with his brain…"

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. **

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —" **

" — **yes, their son, Harry —" **

"Oh…" Teddy murmured, his blindingly bright turquoise-coloured hair slipping into a solemn, dull blue.

"What?" Lily demanded – not many things could make Teddy's hair turn into that depressing colour.

"I think this is the day after your grandparents died…" the metamorphagus replied softly, sighing as the cheerful atmosphere seemed to leak away.

Al sighed softly, before murmuring, "Teddy, please continue..."

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. **

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking…**

"Don't strain yourself," Roxy said, smirking slightly, in an attempt to alleviate the heavy atmosphere.

**no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called Harry. **

"You're serious?" James asked, looking horrified. "He didn't even know his name?" He couldn't even _imagine_ one of his uncles _ever_ not knowing his or his siblings' names – it'd just be completely and laughably impossible!

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

"_Harold_ Potter?" Lily repeated, eyes narrowing dangerously at this horrendous butchering of her father's name. "Now, that was just unnecessary."

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that… **

"Nothing was wrong with Grandma Lily!" Al protested, his emerald eyes blazing angrily.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks… **

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. **

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, **

"What's the bet that that was dear ol' Flitwick!" Fred interrupted, before shuddering slightly. "Too. Many. Teachers! We're on holiday damn it!"

"**Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" **

"Wasn't very happy for some people…" Teddy mumbled, sadness flitting across his face briefly as he thought of his orphaned godfather.

James, Al and Lily were sitting silently; the idea that their father had lost his parents so young had never hit them so acutely. It was almost an _ache_ and at that moment each one had never been so grateful that they still had their mum and dad.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off. **

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. **

"Non-magic folk!" Hugo piped up.

"Hugo," Roxy said slowly, eyebrows raised, "I don't think he really cares that much."

**He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. **

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. **

"See! Told you it was her," Teddy said triumphantly. Everyone looked at him weirdly.

"Er, Teddy," Scorpius started slowly, as though he was talking to a five year old, "no one disagreed with you."

"Oh fine then, you fiends," Teddy huffed, "burst my bubble then. Jeez, after all I've done for you…"

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behaviour? **

**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. **

"That'll be impossible." The metamorphagus said, "Trust me, I know from experience, it's very difficult to hide stuff from wives."

James raised an eyebrow, "And exactly what have you been trying to hide from Vic anyway?"

Teddy grumbled, running a hand through his now turquoise hair, "Trust me, you don't want to know."

When James opened his mouth to assert that, yes, he really _did _want to know, Teddy waggled his eyebrows at him suggestively. "Okay ew. Carry on reading please, before I puke."

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. **

"But I thought he was 'perfectly normal' anyway - why would he need to act it?" Al pointed out; honestly, he was so glad he was only related to this dude by marriage and didn't share any blood with him.

**When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: **

"_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" **_

"_**Well, Ted,"**_

"You're a news-reporter, Teddy!" Fred exclaimed, punching Teddy on the arm. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Teddy pouted, "Because I have no secrets with you lot! I wanted _one _damn it!" He added mournfully, "And now, even that's been taken away from me…"

"Aww, poor Teddy bear!" James cooed, "You want me to get your blankie for you?"

"Oh shut it, chicken boy!"

Fred looked between the two, confused. "Chicken boy?"

"You mean you never told Fred what you did with the chickens last summer?" Lily asked gleefully, swiftly exchanging an evil and scarily Slytherin-ish glance with Albus.

"Told me what?" Fred pressed, looking scandalised that his partner in crime hadn't told him this 'chicken boy' story and even worse – that he did it without him!

"Never mind!" James said firmly, face a scarlet hue as he glared at his sniggering siblings and Teddy.

"I'm worried now, Rosie," Scorpius told the bushy-haired girl sitting beside him after watching this byplay. "Tell me why I got involved with your family again?"

Rose blinked at him innocently, "What on earth do you mean? We're completely normal."

"Yeah," the blond snorted, "about as much as that Dursley guy."

"OUCH. Harsh, Scorp, _harsh._"

_**said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have **_

_**been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." **_

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters… **

"Merlin, he's actually piecing things together!" Hugo commented, looking rather perplexed, as though he couldn't even begin to figure out from whom Dursley had stolen some brain power from.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" **

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. **

James swore under his breath.

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?" **

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…" **

"_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley. **

"_So_?" Al repeated eerily quietly, "Maybe your sister's _dead_ and you should actually _care_!"

"**Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… **_**her **_**crowd." **

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?" **

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. **

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?" **

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me." **

"Oh yeah, and Dudley isn't a nasty name at all!" Fred snarled. The others chimed in with their agreements, each of them momentarily forgetting that Harry actually kept in touch with Dudley and that he wasn't actually that bad a person.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." **

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. **

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it. **

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. **

"Well, there he's gone and jinxed it now!" Roxanne said, as though previously she had simply refused to believe that her uncle would have to live with these people – even though she had known it to be the truth.

**The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_**… **

**How very wrong he was. **

Gusty sighs echoed in the air at these words.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. **

**In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. **

"I swear, only McGonagall would actually have the discipline to do that." Teddy remarked, the respect he held for the Headmistress of Hogwarts increasing just a few notches.

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. **

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. **

"Dumbledore!"

"Al, look it's your namesake!"

"Yeah! Maybe we'll finally see whether you got your kooky qualities from him or from that Snape guy!"

"Err kids, I don't think Al got his 'kooky qualities' from Snape somehow…"

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. **

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. **

**He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known." **

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. **

"Now, _that _is awesome." Rose said, utterly intrigued – she had never heard of anything like that device before! "Wonder what happened to it…"

**If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. **

**Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. **

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." **

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. **

"Same old McGoogly!" James laughed, "Except I think Fred and me have changed that black hair to completely grey."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Al said dryly.

**She looked distinctly ruffled. **

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked. **

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly." **

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall. **

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." **

Seeing that James and Lily were about to protest at the parties and feasts, Teddy reminded them gently, "I know it sucks to hear about, but you have to remember that Voldemort was gone and _their_ families were safe, which is what mattered most to them…"

"I just don't understand why _our _family had to be the one to suffer." Al said, staring unblinkingly at his socked feet, "It's not fair." Rose smiled sadly at her best friend before leaning her head on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him somewhat.

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. **

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense." **

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years." **

Hugo sighed, "That's a depressing thought…"

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." **

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles **

**found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?" **

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?" **

"Ooh I love those!"

"I think we now know why dad couldn't stop cackling when you bought them…"

"… Shut it, git."

"**A **_**what**_**?" **

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of." **

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —" **

"But it's always the moment for lemon drops!" Al protested, shaking his messy-haired head at the professor.

"Okay, Al, calm down now," James said, before patting his little brother on the head patronisingly.

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**." **

"Voldemort!"

"Moldywart!"

"Mortyvold!"

"Wartymort!"

"Mine was better!"

"Was not!"

"Okay children, behave. You too Teddy! Jeeez, you'd never be able to tell that you're 23 – not with the way you act anyway!"

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." **

"**I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of." **

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have." **

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them." **

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs." **

"Ew. Too much information there." Al winced.

"Yeah, just a bit." Scorpius agreed, shuddering.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" **

The air in the room seemed to fall a few degrees at these words; the teenagers leaned forward, now completely engrossed, each one hoping for the explanation that would surely follow.

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. **

Oh, how Fred _hated _that stare…

**It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — **_**dead**_**." **

Albus' legs folded upwards towards his chest. Wrapping his arms around them, he rested his forehead on his knees, jerking slightly when he felt Lily's arm wind around his and her leaning against him, sniffling faintly. James plopped himself next to his brother and sister (after shooing Roxanne away so she could sit with Fred), sighing miserably as he motioned for Teddy to continue reading.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. **

"**Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…" **

"Wow, she really cared…" Lily murmured, swiping at her eyes once before sitting upright and schooling her expression into one of forced calm. "It's nice."

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily. **

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**

A suffocating silence rent the air.

And then –

"WHAT?"

The entire group of teenagers looked absolutely horrified; James appeared as though he had been punched in the stomach, Lily lost her battle with her tears and Al looked as though he had forgotten how to breathe. Rose had her hand over her mouth as her eyes welled and Scorpius and Hugo were trying – and succeeding to some extent – to comfort her, whilst Fred had his arm around Roxy, both looking utterly shocked.

"Your dad never mentioned anything like this to me…" Teddy said weakly, burying his face in his hands as his hair turned a pitch black colour. Clearing his throat, he asked, "What exactly have Harry and the others told you guys?"

Lily sniffed, "Just that Grandma Lily sacrificed her life for dad, ermm… there were two battles at Hogwarts, and after a year on the run dad managed to defeat Voldemort."

Teddy hummed, having been told a more detailed version by his godfather – but he definitely hadn't mentioned that he had survived the freaking _killing curse_!

**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone." **

"Shitcakes on a stick…" James muttered, carding a shaking hand through his hair. His dad had defeated Voldemort once already when he was _one years old_! More importantly though – _why _had Voldemort wanted to kill him?

**Dumbledore nodded glumly. **

"**It's — it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?" **

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know." **

"He's lying," Teddy said shrewdly, "He knows exactly why."

"How do you know?" Roxy asked curiously.

"Err, I'm sure you'll find out later on in the book." The metamorphagus replied vaguely. One thing he definitely did know about this whole thing was about the prophecy. He'd been eighteen and was snooping around Harry's office (desperately trying to find out what he was getting for Christmas for that year) when he had taken an excursion into Harry's pensieve. To say that he had left it with about million different questions was a complete understatement.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, **

"**Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?" **

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why **_**you're here, of all places?" **

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now." **

Teddy caught all of the depressed expressions around the room and decided that enough was enough. "Come on guys! I mean, have you even realised by just how much his family has grown?" He smiled reassuringly at the teenagers. "Yeah, he started off with the Dursleys but he's ended with us lot. And _that's _the important thing, isn't it?"

Grinning triumphantly at the somewhat cheered faces now looking back at him, Teddy turned back to the book.

"**You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!" **

Roxanne nodded her head furiously, "Agreed! Listen to the woman, Dumbledore!"

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter." **

"Seriously?" Rose snapped, "A _letter_?"

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. **"**Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

"Is there a Harry Potter day?" Scorpius asked, lips twitching at this.

Teddy also looked like he was trying desperately hide a smile. "I think the Ministry tried to get the idea through, but they kept arguing as to whether it should be the 2nd May, 31st October or July 31st, so they gave up."

"That's hilarious!" James gasped, laughing breathlessly.

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?" **

"Unfortunately, he has a good point," Rose remarked, brow creasing into a frown nevertheless.

"He could have achieved all that with another family though," Al countered in a subdued voice.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it. **

"Now that would have been some _excellent _blackmail material!" Lily said, grinning wickedly.

"**Hagrid's bringing him." **

"**You think it —**_**wise **_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?" **

"Of course!" Hugo said vehemently, "Hagrid's the best!"

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. **

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?" **

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them. **

"The one Uncle Harry has in the garage?" Roxy asked excitedly – she happened to think it was the _coolest_ thing her uncle owned.

"Must be," Teddy shrugged.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. **

"That is the perfect description of Hagrid," Scorpius said, having been scared absolutely shitless when he first met the half-giant.

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. **

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?" **

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir." **

"Sirius Black!" James exclaimed, perking up, "It was _his _motorbike! That's brilliant!"

"**No problems, were there?" **

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol." **

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. **

"Aww, how cute!"

**Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. **

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall. **

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever." **

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?" **

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. **

"That's so weird, but also quite cool at the same time," Al commented, grinning at the utter eccentricity of the man he was named after.

"Aw, you're _just_ like him!" James cooed at his younger brother, before adding, "As long as you don't grow the beard though, Al, otherwise I'd _have_ to disown you." The oldest Potter sibling smirked, dodging the pillow Al attempted to pummel him with.

**Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with." **

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. **

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. **

"Blackmail material!" Lily whispered gleefully to her older brothers, who both nodded, a mischievous sparkle lighting up in their eyes.

**Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog. **

The smiles fell off their faces and the atmosphere became permeated with sadness once more. "That's so sad," Rose breathed sorrowfully.

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!" **

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —" **

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm**

"How comforting," Fred said wryly, "I'm surprised Hagrid actually stopped crying at that…"

**as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, **

"On the _doorstep_?" was the general consensus as everyone in the room began to speak at the same time, completely and absolutely appalled.

"It was November!" Rose yelled, "It would have been cold!"

"And I'm pretty sure some Death Eaters would have still been on loose!" Al snapped, furiously glaring at the book in Teddy's hands.

**took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. **

There was silence in the room as the teenagers listened and took this in – it was clear how much Dumbledore didn't want to leave Harry there – but then why had he?

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." **

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir." **

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. **

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. **

Small smiles could be seen around the room at this last sentence; McGonagall was just something else entirely.

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. **

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. **

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!" **

"And that's the end of the first chapter," Teddy announced, dropping the book on the floor in front of him. "What's the time?"

"Erm, only 12," Hugo replied, after checking his watch. "Can we have lunch now? I'm so hungry!"

The rumbling stomachs of the teenagers seemed to agree and so Teddy nodded and began to get up. "Come on then, you lot, to the kitchen!"

"We should keep reading until mum and dad get home, Teddy," James suggested, as the still fairly subdued group began stretching out and pulling themselves up from the floor. "And then we can discuss what to do and how the read the rest later?"

"Yup, sounds fine with me," the metamorphagus agreed, and with that the nine teenagers and Teddy trooped into the kitchen of Potter Manor.

* * *

**_Alright, lemme know what you think! Also, which characters would you like to join in the reading - Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Molly, Lucy, Lycan & Lorcan or none at all! Hope you enjoyed and please revieww :)_**


	2. The Vanishing Glass

_Here ya go! I might be adding Victoire in later chapters, but she would be the only one for the moment! Hope you enjoy and please remember to review - I'll update faster :D _

* * *

"I'm reading next!" James announced, running back into the living room and snatching up the book before anyone else had even left the kitchen.

Teddy snorted as he entered, followed by the rest of the teenagers, "I don't think we have much of a choice for some reason…"

"Just don't deafen us, please James," Al pleaded, dearly hoping that there was nothing written in all capital letters in this chapter – his dear brother had a penchant for shouting whenever the opportunity arose. His ears were still ringing from the 'I-honestly-didn't-mean-to-set-fire-to-the-shed-and-I-can't-believe-dad's-grounding-me-It's-not-fair-I'm-of-age-now!' rant from last week.

Once the members of the Weasley/Potter/Malfoy/Lupin clan had settled themselves around the room, James began to read in a loud, booming voice.

**Chapter Two – The Vanishing Glass**

"Ooh!" Roxanne grinned, "That sounds interesting!"

"Sure does," James agreed, before narrowing his eyes at his cousin, "Now let me read!"

"Jeez, Mr Grouchypants."

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

Fred gasped, "How can nothing have changed at all?"

"Weird, boring people," Scorpius muttered to himself, shuddering – yes, maybe he wasn't quite as bonkers as this family, but he'd rather kill himself than live in a place where things stayed the same _all the time_.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report on the owls. **

"Whoa," Fred breathed, looking scandalised, "now that's just sad!"

**Only photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago,**

Rose quickly did the math in her head. "Ooh, Uncle Harry should be getting his Hogwarts letter soon!"

There were cheers at this pronouncement – all of the teenagers felt that staying in an environment that _never _changed would definitely be detrimental to poor Harry's health and sanity.

**there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets –but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blonde boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in house too.**

"That's… ominous," Teddy said, narrowing his eyes slightly, "I really don't want to know what that sentence means."

"Maybe he's left!" Hugo exclaimed optimistically, before deflating at the incredulous looks he was getting from the others. "Jeez, a boy can dream, can't he?"

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"**Up! Get up! Now!"**

Everyone winced.

"Well, that's a pleasant way to wake someone up," Al commented sarcastically, hoping beyond hope that this would be the worst of the treatment his father received from the Dursleys.

**Harry woke with a start, His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put out on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motor cycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"Wow," Scorpius said, impressed, "He's got really good memory."

"Well, obviously, that bike is just too awesome to forget!" Roxanne grinned, eyes glazing over slightly as she remembered the first time Harry introduced her to the 'flying death-trap' (as mother called it. Although to be honest, that just made it so much better in her eyes.).

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

"No."

"Snooooooore."

"**Nearly," said Harry.**

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everyone perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"…Duddy?" Fred, James and Al repeated in unison, before bursting into laughter, followed by the rest of the occupants of the room.

"Wait," Rose interrupted, "they made him cook! Mum didn't even let us into the kitchen until we were older!"

"Ah, but Rosie," Fred countered, "that was because you and Hugo tended to set fire to the kitchen at least three times a week."

"Oh, come on!" Hugo protested, "We were never _that _bad!"

Ignoring the snickers coming from James and Fred, Lily frowned at the thought of her father being forced to cook at only ten years old. Something else that was bugging her though was just how young he was when he started…

**Harry groaned.**

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"Nothing, you idiot woman," Teddy snapped, eyes flashing.

"**Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday –how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

"WHAT?"

"NO EFFING WAY!"

"IN A _CUPBOARD_?"

"I'M GOING TO KILL THE DURSLEYS!"

Al looked as though all the breath had whooshed out of his lungs as buried his head in his hands, shocked at this latest revelation. Conjuring up a piece of parchment and a quill, he moved next to James and Teddy, dragging Lily along with him. Evil glints in their eyes, they began to plan. Hearing the words, "explode… boom… fire…walrus… cut off… fluorescent pink… BOOM!", Roxy picked up the book and continued reading, making sure that the Potters and Lupin were listening.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise**

"Well, that's certainly changed," Lily remarked, "One of his favourite topics to talk about now is about how important exercise and diet is…"

– **Unless of course it involved punching somebody. **

"He doesn't sound very nice," Roxy said, wrinkling her nose at what she had just read. Although she didn't want to insult the man who evidently Harry still kept in touch with quite often, she really couldn't help it.

**Dudley's favourite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him.**

"Well, at least that's something," James snarled, glaring at the book and unable to quite believe that the uncle that they visited so frequently used to _beat up_ their father.

**Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Nope," Teddy grinned at Al and James, "It's definitely in the genes – you two were midgets until you hit your fifth years at Hogwarts."

Al pouted, mirroring the put out expression on his older brother's face, "We were _not_!"

"Yes, you were," everyone else in the room countered in unison, smirking at the two Potter boys.

James huffed, levelling a glare at Teddy for bring up the topic in the first place.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.**

"'Albus had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright green eyes'." Rose repeated, chuckling when Al raised his eyebrows at her before rolling his 'bright green eyes'.

"How do you know if I have knobbly knees?" Al asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

"I've grown up with you remember," Rose said smugly, "I've seen your knees! Trust me, when you were younger they looked like a pair of tennis balls stuffed into some tights."

"Hey, they were _not _that bad!"

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**

The growls and snarls that filled the air would not have been out of place in a cage of angry lions. A few of the teenagers actually reached for their wands, wanting so badly to hex the man that had evidently made their father's/uncle's/godfather's life miserable whilst at the Dursleys.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thing scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"He really liked that thing back then?" Hugo asked curiously. Harry's hatred of his scar was legendary among the family – he point blank refused to talk about it, barely mentioning it even when briefly explaining the war to his children and godchild.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

"WHAT?" Lily yelled, fury blazing in her eyes. "How _dare _she?"

"Grandma and grandpa did _not _die in _CAR CRASH_!" Al snarled, clenching his shaking hands into two angry fists.

Rose's hand flew up to cover her mouth in horror as she exclaimed, "How disrespectful!"

"What kind of sister is Petunia?"

"I can really see why dad doesn't keep in touch with them," James said bitterly, the anger clearly ringing in his voice.

"**And don't ask questions."**

_**Don't ask questions –**_**That was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"What a pathetic rule!" Teddy snapped, hair flashing a deep, blood-red in his anger. "How are you supposed to learn anything without asking questions?"

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"How polite," Fred snorted sarcastically, shaking his head at his cousin's relatives.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way –all over the place.**

"Yup," James smiled, running a hand through his messy hair, "Potter hair is bloody untameable…"

"I know," Al groaned, pulling at a few strands of his own inky black locks as his lips twitched slightly.

"Ahh, Al, don't pretend you don't love our hair!" James smirked, wagging a finger sternly at him. "Dad would be devastated!"

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blonde hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel**

"Obviously, she's blind." Hugo said in a matter-of-fact voice, as though this explanation was the only logical reason as to why Petunia would say something like that.

– **Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Everyone laughed appreciatively at this remark, after which the Potter siblings and Teddy tried to figure out exactly where Harry had been hiding this sense of humour of his all their lives.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"_Thirty-six_?" Scorpius exclaimed incredulously, eyes wide in disbelief. "Even _I _don't get that much!"

"That's because your mother's _already _worried enough about your overly large ego, and she doesn't want to make it worse," Rose said tartly, patting Scorpius on the head patronisingly.

"Cruel, Rosie, _cruel_," Scorpius pouted at her, before reverting to his former expression of disgust at Dudley, "But still! He has thirty-six already and he's still complaining!"

Al frowned to himself, eyes flashing angrily as he muttered under his breath, "I wonder how many presents they gave dad… if any at all."

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, its here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"Good call," Hugo said, nodding sagely, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"

"Hu," Roxanne said amusedly, "_every _meal is the most important meal for you."

Hugo opened his mouth to protest but seeming to think about it, closed it and instead nodded and sighed in agreement – unfortunately, Roxy had a point.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

"That's lazy parenting, that is," Teddy commented, lips twisting into a bitter grimace. This sort of thing would only make Dudley into a bigger spoilt brat than he already seemed to be, which was saying a _lot_.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…"**

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"Merlin," Fred breathed incredulously, eyebrows flying up his forehead, "he can't even add two without help!"

"How on earth did Uncle Harry not turn out to be this much of an idiot?" Rose asked, looking equally as put out as Fred.

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

"He's encouraging him?" Lily shook her head, looking as though a little piece of her had just died inside at her great-uncle's behaviour.

"That's going to come right back round and bite him in the arse when he least expects it," Teddy said viciously, "Oh, I do enjoy karma."

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. **

As one, all the heads in the room turned to Roxanne for explanations, who simply grinned smugly and said, "There's two much stuff there to explain right now, so I'll tell you later on – maybe at the end of this chapter."

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"Well," James interrupted himself to say, "I'm happy with anything that annoys _her_!"

"Yep," Lily added, smirking to such an extent that it made it seem as though she was about to start cackling madly and rubbing her hands together like an evil mastermind (making her older brothers extremely proud of her),"it'd be even better if it was good for dad, as well – that would just cause her more pain!"

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broke her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

"'Him' has a _name_," Al scowled at the book, pain spiking his heart as he tried to imagine what it would be like if any of _his _uncles or aunts spoke about him like that… like he was lower than dirt.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away.**

"That must have sucked," Teddy said glumly; the anger he felt at Harry's so-called family had burnt out only to be replaced by resigned misery.

**Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

Fred, James and Roxanne groaned, "_Boring_!"

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.**

"Oh, of course he did," Al said sardonically, "Because an eleven year old has nothing better to do with his time other than plan to injure mad old ladies just so he could leave the house!"

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg,**

Rose looked surprised at this thought and her tone was almost scolding as she said, "You should feel sorry! Just because she's a bit…"

"Bonkers?"

"Bananas?"

"Loopy?"

Al sniggered, "Figures you would suggest that one, Teddy, eh, Loony Loopy Lupin!"

Teddy grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is Peeves still singing that even though I'm not even there?"

"Yup," James grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "but Al and me added some more lyrics to it and gave him a new tune!"

"It sounds even better now," Al confirmed, snickering at the expression on the Metamorphagus' face.

**but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snow, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

James paused here momentarily so he and Fred could snigger immaturely to themselves at the unfortunate names of those cats.

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Well, at least it means Harry won't have to suffer this Marge woman either," Scorpius pointed out, although quite shocked at the amount of dislike aimed at one innocent boy for no clear reason (as far as he could see anyway).

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there –or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend –Yvonne?"**

"**On vacations in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Sneaky, sneaky!" Fred said chidingly, wagging his finger at the book before his face split into a proud smile at his uncle's clear rebellious streak.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"Oooh, maybe we should feed her some?"

"No, Hugo, we are not going to feed Petunia lemons."

"Aw, Rosie, you always ruin my fun."

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"Yeaaaaah, 'cause an eleven year old is _really _going to blow up the house." Roxanne said acerbically, rolling her eyes at these pathetic excuses for adults.

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"**I supposed we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly," …and leave him in the car…"**

"That's _illegal_!" Rose cried indignantly, "They _better_ not have done that!"

"**That car's new; he's not sitting in it alone…"**

"Uncle Harry's far more important than a _car_!" Fred growled, before beginning to mutter feverishly to himself under his breath and causing even James to back away slightly when they heard some of what he was saying. One thing was certain though, George would certainly be _very _proud of his son's ideas (which, in itself, was a worrying concept).

**Dudley began to cry loudly.**

"What a baby," Scorpius said scathingly, voice full of disdain.

**In fact, he wasn't really crying –it had been years since he'd really cried- but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give anything he wanted.**

"Well, that's even worse!" Rose snapped.

"**Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

"Dinky Duddydums?" James repeated, mouthing the words to himself before falling into fits of laughter.

"Maybe that's why he's so irritating and spoilt," Teddy choked out through his own amusement, "torture by nicknames!"

"They don't even deserve to be called nicknames!" Roxanne said, clutching at her stomach as she giggled. "_Al_ is a nickname, _Hu _is a nickname, _Roxy _is a nickname! Those… those are more like insults!"

"**I…don't…want…him…t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"I think he kind of deserve those nicknames, don't you?" Teddy said dryly, raising a turquoise eyebrow.

Roxanne poked the Metamorphagus. "I think we just established that those _aren't _nicknames!"

**Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically – and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat.**

"So we have a walrus, horse, pig in a wig and now a rat?" Hugo asked, laughing at the way in which his uncle described people - he couldn't _wait _until his dad came into the story!

**He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Obviously."

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his lucky, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

"The first time in his life?" Al repeated softly, suddenly looking downhearted – one of his own earliest memories was being paraded around the zoo sitting comfortably on his dad's shoulders as Harry pretended to hold conversations with all the animals, making up funny names for them and introducing Al to them for his amusement. He distinctly remembered one time when Harry had actually asked some monkeys to tea, resulting in Al almost falling off his shoulders he had been laughing so hard.

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"How _dare _he threaten dad?" Lily flared up suddenly, eyes flashing dangerously as she seemed to be restraining herself from finding out where Petunia and Vernon lived and paying them a visit.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him, No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"MAGIC!" James yelped joyfully, "Dad you're a wizard!"

A new, deeper, amused voice suddenly entered the conversation, "Yes, I do realise that, James."

Gasping, James flung the book under one of the sofas and gaped at his father, who had just appeared at the doorway of the living room. Harry stepped into the room, sparkling emerald green eyes roaming over all the teenagers, a few of which refused to make eye contact with him, others with guilty looks on their faces. "What have you lot been up to, eh?"

When no one answered, he raised an eyebrow and turned to face his eldest son. "Why were you telling me that I'm a wizard, James?"

"Er," James stuttered, doing some very quick thinking to try and come up with an explanation. Luckily, it was Teddy to the rescue.

"I know it's stupid, but most of the things James does _are _stupid so it makes sense but basically…" Teddy began, contorting his features into a perfect expression of exasperation and amusement with not even a trace of guilt. "Someone at Hogwarts had been telling James about how when they were little kids, they used to play Harry Potter games – like you know, pretending to be you and Voldemort and doing the whole duel thing – and James, poor_, poor _James, realised that he had never played a game like this before – "

" – and so I straight away went and told Al and Lily," James jumped in, "and we were understandably quite upset because you know, you're our _dad _and all and it wasn't really fair that we never got to play them and so – "

" – when we got home, we told all the others," Al continued seamlessly, gesturing around at the gathered teenagers, "who all agreed and so this is what we were just doing."

Harry looked between his three boys, an amused smile unfurling on his face. "I see…" His words were belied by the utter disbelief dripping from his voice.

Lily cleared her throat, shooting her dad a winning smile and a pair of puppy-dog eyes, "We were just doing the part where you find out that you were magical!" She glared at James, "Obviously, James can't even do it right 'cause he called you 'dad' instead of 'Harry', so he's a bit of a fail."

Harry hummed, unable to quite believe that they had come up with such a random story so quickly – although, he _really _should be used to it by now. Obviously, they didn't want him to know exactly what they were doing, and hey, as long as the house was still standing, it was fine – anything other than that, he'd let Ginny deal with when she got home; she was far more efficient in pulling answers out of all the kids. "Right, well, I'm just going to go back to work then…" Harry said, trying not to roll his eyes at them, "I just came to check that you hadn't blown the house up or something."

Strangely enough, all the kids began to snigger at this and the pointedly avoided catching each other's eyes. Harry decided that he really didn't want to know. Congratulating himself at his wise decision, he shook his head, raising a hand in farewell (not before sending his godson, kids, nephews and nieces warning glances) and apparated out of the house.

"Phew!" Hugo breathed, breaking the silence. "I thought we were doomed for a second there!"

"Teddy! What a story that was!" Roxanne laughed, knowing that it was too farfetched – but still quite good for only a few seconds notice.

Teddy shrugged – he was just thanking Merlin that it hadn't been Ginny, she would have been far harder to convince, that's for sure.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

"You know, this book really puts muggles in a bad light," Scorpius remarked, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, well there are bad and good in _every _race, including muggles and wizards." Teddy replied, smiling at the nod of understanding he received from his younger cousin.

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

"Whooo!" James cheered, beaming, "Potter hair is _unbeatable_!"

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"WHAT?"

"That's harsh! It's only _hair_!"

"It's not like he hurt someone else!"

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) –**

The girls shuddered at this whilst the boys winced, all of them looking horrified.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller is seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"Good." Rose said firmly, "Although there's really no reason for him be punished, to be honest – he's wasn't breaking any rules."

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens.**

**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"Awesome!" Al grinned, "He _flew_!"

"Definitely a natural flyer," Lily said proudly.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing the school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard)**

"They _locked _him in there!" Roxanne snarled furiously, "Those bloody, horrible, pieces of…" Rose's terrifying glare cut off the end of that sentence abruptly as Roxy shut up and just began to curse them in her head.

**-was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid- jump.**

The occupants of the room burst into guffaws and chuckles at this, amused at Harry's utter innocence.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong.**

Teddy sighed, shaking his head. It was almost guaranteed that now something was definitely going to go wrong. Life, unfortunately, just worked like that.

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"For some _strange _reason, I think he enjoys complaining about Uncle Harry," Fred said sarcastically.

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"Stupid walrus, has no taste in muggle transport," Roxanna mumbled under her breath, lips thinning as she thought of the awesomeness that was hidden away in her Uncle Harry's garage… maybe she'd be able to convince him to let her ride it on her own this summer…

"…**roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

Slaps echoed around the room as many of the teenagers smacked their forehead with the palm of their hand at this remark.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front.**

"Idiot," Rose said disdainfully, "If you can't drive properly, get out of the car."

**He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"That's all that you know!" Hugo replied smugly to the book.

**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

"Ah dad," James grinned, "don't agree with him! Of course they fly!"

"Yes, I think he knows that now," Rose said testily, "seeing as he has a _flying motorcycle _in your garage!"

"…Shut up, Rosie."

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Dangerous – no, but definitely funny and very good inspiration for pranks!" Teddy commented, smirking at the gleeful looks Fred and James exchanged. "They'd also have some brilliant ideas you could use for the shop as well."

Roxanne sent him a dazzling smile of thanks before making a mental note to somehow get a copy of some cartoons in the very near future.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"Ah well," Al shrugged, as though determined to look at his treatment by the Dursleys somewhat positively (if that was even possible), "it's better than nothing, I suppose."

**It wasn't bad either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blonde.**

Sniggers echoed in the air at these words as all teenagers were grateful that Harry could even cultivate and maintain a sense of humour in a house _that didn't change a bit ten whole years_!

**Harry had the best mornings he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back to their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his Knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

**Harry felt, afterwards, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"I knew it," Teddy muttered, knowing that this time being right wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Ugh," Al groaned, "I honestly don't want to know what happens now."

"Ah, come on Al," Scorpius reassured his best friend, "I'm sure it won't be _that _bad."

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can**

"I wish it did," Fred said dreamily, eyes glazing over as he did – probably also ensuring that the Dursleys were still in the car at this point in his daydream.

"Maybe it would have taught him not to consider leaving children alone in the car," Lily said fiercely.

**- but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

"Poor snake," Hugo said mournfully, "I really wouldn't want a blond gorilla staring at me while I sleep…"

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. **

"_You're _boring," Rose moaned mockingly.

**He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except for stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"Wait," James said slowly, "did he just compare himself to a snake?"

"I think he just did?" Lily said questioningly, arching an eyebrow.

"That's so sad," Roxanne sighed, "He's feels luckier than a _snake_…"

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

"Wait, what?" Teddy asked confusedly, "It _winked_?"

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"This is so weird," Fred muttered, brow creasing into a frown.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, and then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time."**

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

"He's talking to a snake. And the snake understands," Al rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

"I'm not sure," Teddy began, lips twisting into a small grimace, "but I think he may be a Parselmouth…"

"A Parselmouth?" James gaped – since when was his dad a _Parselmouth_? Looking around at his siblings, he saw that they were mirroring the flabbergasted expression he knew was on his own face.

Al shook his head firmly, "This doesn't change anything – he's still dad."

"It's actually quite _cool_," Lily contemplated, "He could be telling snakes to do eat you alive and you'd never know until it had you inside it's belly."

Rose blinked. "Well, that's rather morbid..."

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

"**Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see – so you've never been to Brazil?"**

Fred was clearly trying not to grin. "I'm sorry, but how cool do you have to be to speak to a Boa about Brazil?"

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.**

"**DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

"Great." Hugo groaned, throwing his arms in the air, "That just _had _to happen, didn't it?"

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"Waddling," Scorpius snickered, "What is he, a penguin?"

"Hey, don't say that!" Lily pouted, "Penguins are _cute_!"

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened – one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

Everyone leaned towards the book eagerly as James continued reading, a note of excitement entering his voice.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. **

"That's AWESOME!"

"Go dad!"

"I hope it bites Vernon."

"James, don't say that!"

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**AS the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… thanksss, amigo."**

"Definitely a Parselmouth," Teddy confirmed, nodding his head.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"Up your – "

"_Fred_!"

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten his leg off, while Piers was it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worse of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"What the hell?"Al interrupted irately, emerald eyes blazing, "The bloody prat's going to get dad in trouble!"

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go – cupboard – stay – no meals," before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"NO MEALS?" Lily screeched, almost shaking with fury.

"They're _starving _him?" Al yelped, hand twitching as though he desperately wanted to reach for his wand and start cursing everything he possibly could. Hugo, who took food very seriously, looked utterly scandalised. James, Fred and Teddy were sitting with their heads together, once again discussing the gruesome revenges they were going to be carrying out on these wretched Dursleys.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

Teddy cursed before sighing sorrowfully, "I can't believe he has to sneak food in his own home…"

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

"Have a good memory can sometimes suck." James stated, dropping his head in his hands, fingers threading through his hair.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions.**

**There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"So he doesn't even know what they look like?" Roxanne asked, feeling as though someone was squeezing her heart. Merlin, it must have been so depressing…

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him.**

"Probably," Scorpius commented, slightly subdued after finding out about Harry's home life. He was _extremely _lucky to have lived how he had. He added, "He is the Boy-Who-Lived, after all."

**Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

"That must have been so random," Al remarked, "I probably would have freaked out a little bit."

"I wouldn't have," James sniggered. "I would have just – "

" – bowed back and laughed hysterically in dear old Petunia's face." Fred finished gleefully, exchanging a cheeky grin with James.

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus.**

"That's not _that_ weird!" Roxanne exclaimed, "I do that too!"

"Yes," Fred explained patiently, as though talking to a five-year old, "but you're also wild-looking and old."

Punching her brother hard on the shoulder, she shot him a murderous glare and turned back to listen to the book.

**A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Prats," Lily snapped, "obviously they're all a bunch of cowards!"

Al sat up suddenly, a large smiling uncurling on his face, "It doesn't even matter because dad's going to Hogwarts soon!"

The room burst into cheers at this as the book changed hands once more and Rose cleared her throat and began to read in her crystal clear voice.

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_Hope you enjoyed! Please reviewww :) _


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